Ovaltine.
post summer workouts report
- Thread starter davekersey
- Start date
Ovaltine.
Not sure where the report originated, but Nick has had a pretty solid summer. I think he will have a nice season.
Good news if true 13. If he can just rebound, and block shots without getting into foul trouble, it will be a huge step forward.
I hope your info is right. I’ve seen a lot of different reports about nick and they all said, pretty much, “Nick is still Nick ...”
you're right, his form is fine. Not sure more shots & a trainer is going t help much either. A lot of times shooting problems are in the head & not form related. That's clearly the case with Hagans IMO. He hesitates to release and that's due to doubt. When he get a to the point he doesn't care to miss he'll make more and catch & shoot in better rhythm. I think that should naturally get better just because he turns sophomore.
Don't disagree, but those are two HOF's. Not really a similar comparison imo.
Part of the issue is that Cal has had so many players that were so good that they were ready after a year or two to go to the next level that when a player stays he is viewed as a failure. This just how things used to work in college ball before the way things are now.
Now it may never click for him to the point many others have before him , but it might too. Josh Harrellson did little to nothing until his senior year, and then, boom.
I don't disagree with your assessment though.
Nick,
Please don't fall for the shot-fake every single time. Once in a while is ok. They know you go for it every time. You have pleanty of length, athleticism and quickness to wait for the actual shot and still get the block.
Thanks in advance.
OP
Please don't fall for the shot-fake every single time. Once in a while is ok. They know you go for it every time. You have pleanty of length, athleticism and quickness to wait for the actual shot and still get the block.
Thanks in advance.
OP
I'm just busting your balls, brother. I do it all the time with **** and shot. I just make sure to proofread and correct it. I guess we've given a new meaning to the term, "**** shot". Get a towel and wipe that **** off the ball before the next possession! [laughing]
Ok how about this? Let's say Nick is still Nick, but improves just a smidge, so that he cuts down a smidge on fouling as often and cuts down a smidge on going for the ball fake. Slight improvement can mean big things for him. Our small ball lineup still looks potent if we need it. Remember when the team went small rarely with Keldon at the four at times last season. It wasn't terrible, and we'll be in much better shape with a smaller lineup than last season. I know he's a different player with different skills, but what happened when Josh Harrellson finally got more minutes? He shined. Let's see what Nick can do with some more opportunity and a bit of a longer leash before we write him off in early August.
A crummy commercial? Son of a *****!
Yeah you can only ask for him to try, and he has done that. I hope the best for him and like its been said, him being successful would make this season special.
Problem is, Richards needs a lot more than a smidge to be effective and have any chance this yr. He’s by far our most important player this yr, along with Montgomery. If they both haven’t improved it could be a very long season
Definitely, too much thinking about your shot just makes a player uncomfortable and unconfident in their shot. Those that square up and shoot the ball usually don't hesitate or think they just shoot. Its like when a player talks of being in a zone and the basket feels like the ocean. And last as you said, a short memory, you just have to believe the next one is going down or find another way to score or contribute to someone who can score. But you got to want to take the shot.
LMAO. About 50 people so far in this thread have written off Nick Richards for at least the season, if not the rest of his career, with varying degrees of detailed analysis and emotional intensity — all based on four words, ‘Nick is still Nick” in a second or third hand report delivered in early August and based on observations in July.
What if I told you someone who has watched lots of the workouts told me “Nick is showing real improvement in catching the ball and in his defensive reactions and he has finally taken conditioning seriously and has revved up his motor.”
We’ll see who is right in November.
What if I told you someone who has watched lots of the workouts told me “Nick is showing real improvement in catching the ball and in his defensive reactions and he has finally taken conditioning seriously and has revved up his motor.”
We’ll see who is right in November.
The point is that neither Olajuwon or Duncan needed much time at all to develop a feel for the game, exactly because they were so talented. Meaning, in regards to Nick Richards, that I think a lot of people overrate his talent because they just look at the body and ignore all the less obvious things (that Olajuwon and Duncan had in spades).
Richards will always have potential as a shot-blocker and rebounder, because of his size, but I don't think we're ever going to see him suddenly bloom into an All-Conference level player.
All I'm saying is you might be surprised what he can do when he is out on the floor for more than 3 minute spurts. He has already shown that he CAN rebound and CAN be a rim-protector, not to mention the offensive glimpses we've seen from him. Just need more consistency, obviously. If he can stay on the floor without fouling as often, he can certainly be a difference maker. A difference maker I think a lot of us can agree we wish we saw a bit more of in the Auburn elite eight match-up. He improved from year one to year two, and now with a real opportunity for some real minutes, I for one, expect improvement again in his third year.
Guarding the pick and roll was also a struggle most of the time for him. I believe if he can limit getting Burnt on that plus stay out of foul trouble he could play an important role.
Well, who is "someone" that told you Nick is showing improvement?
You can't be upset because a bunch of dudes want badly for NR to be great because UK basketball needs him and he has the tools to be great, but the news we're hearing is that he's still the same NR that we're used to seeing.
We fell for it last year. Pre season workout reports claimed he was a changed man. Then he went and started off the season with a couple of great games against low D1 teams (nobody played well in game 1 last season). Then the real NR showed up.
So you can't be upset when so many people read that "Nick is still Nick" comment and come away thinking he is not improving. It's really nothing to get offended about.
The issue with these pre season workout reports is every year we hear how incredibly great "so and so" is doing, then the season starts and "so and so" really isn't very good.
Happens every year. However, there are times when we hear reports like this one and those usually turn out to be much more accurate. Eventually you have to stop being fooled by these reports. We've seen this happen too many times now.
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So, the POSITIVE workout reports are inaccurate and only fools believe them, but the NEGATIVE reports are "much more accurate?" You are half right. All the reports are sketchy impressions at best. I wouldn't believe any of them very much, including a four-word dismissal of Nick.
Well, you can’t really blame people for believing what they’ve seen on the court in real basketball games over any summer workout reports. After all, Josh Carrier can’t miss and Matt Pilgrim is a BEAST, right? Hell, last year NR was a beast in the Bahamas. Then we played real games against real competition ...
I don’t think anyone is “dismissing” Nick. Hell man, we all want him to be great. I think we’re at a point now where we just have to see it on the court in real game action against some real competition.
That’s not really what I said. But you're not far off. Usually the negative reports are more realistic and the reports like "Sasha Killeya-Jones is the best player on the floor and it isn't close" or "Diallo is unguardable" or "Skal is the next AD" are way off. I don't know why Rex Chapman or anyone else that's close to the program would get fooled the way they do every year, but I would be willing to be that the "Nick is still Nick" take is the accurate one.
I'm not being negative, just realistic.
What I want to see from Richards this year to make me happy.
1) More of that baby hook shot. He's money when he uses it but only did it maybe once per game. It's unguardable and he hits it at a very very high rate. Give me 2 of those a game and some garbage put backs.
2) Rebound outside of your area. He has a tendency to watch rather than react. If a shots going up on your left, jump to the opposite side of the rim and body up someone.
3) Don't fall for every pump fake. I'd settle for only falling for half of them.
Give me 7 and 5 and a block or 2 a game and I'll be ecstatic. We'll see but we don't need him to be a world beater.
1) More of that baby hook shot. He's money when he uses it but only did it maybe once per game. It's unguardable and he hits it at a very very high rate. Give me 2 of those a game and some garbage put backs.
2) Rebound outside of your area. He has a tendency to watch rather than react. If a shots going up on your left, jump to the opposite side of the rim and body up someone.
3) Don't fall for every pump fake. I'd settle for only falling for half of them.
Give me 7 and 5 and a block or 2 a game and I'll be ecstatic. We'll see but we don't need him to be a world beater.
Who else in the country has a frontcourt that scares you? Besides, I'd much rather have a deep backcourt/wings, than a deep front court. Especially with Brooks and Whitney's ability to play some small ball 4. And we all know, the NCAA tournament is more about ball handlers and shooters than who can bang in the paint. Even if Richards struggles again this year, I think we can walk to the sweet sixteen blindfolded.
I don't either. UK needs him to be a shot blocker and rebounder like you said. If they get that from him, they could be lethal..
I never have cared where the players come from but it would be cool to see Allen light it up since he is from Kentucky.
Nobody is “dismissing” Nick. They are just being realistic and slightly pessimistic based off his below mediocre play the last 2 years.
I cant help but think - if I was 7ft tall, I feel I would be able to dominate a basketball game. I’m 5’11” and I could do some good things when I was younger. I could dunk a small ball on 10 foot goal. I thought that was pretty good. Of course, I could be completely wrong. What do I know?
IMO...Richards has to think what to do vs react to the situation. So he’s always a half second behind the other players. And yes for a big man he seems to have very weak hands.